Annotation
How did ordinary citizens live, experience and shape their Everyday under State socialism?And what were the political implications of their cultural practices of routines and daily actions? In this seminar these questions will not only lead us to look at historical forces from below but put them into relation to the forces defined by rulers. Only the totality of the relationship between rulers and ruled will provide us with a deeper insight into the reality of ‘everyday life’ in socialist states. In other words, we will be turning our attention away from ’high’ politics towards the micropolitics of everyday life. By doing so, we are seeking a deeper understanding about the relative stability of socialist societies. Beginning with central theoretical texts on the historiographical approach of the Everyday we will use this methodological framework to examine subjects like childhood, gender roles, worker’s protest, consumption, tourism, youth sub-cultures, mass entertainment, housing, dissent and practices towards ideology.
We will be mainly focussing on the post-Stalinist era throughout the Socialist Bloc.
Enrolled students of the course are expected to read and prepare the assigned texts properly for fruitful discussions.